Celebrating the Power of Communities

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT). What started as a grassroots movement on the World Health Organisation’s decisions to depathologise homosexuality in 1990 and transgender identities in 2018, has become a global day of defiance against violence, exclusion, and systemic injustice. To celebrate, Kaleidoscope Trust hosted a panel discussion last month with Midnight Poonkasetwattana, Executive Director of APCOM; Dr. Douglas Janoff, diplomat researcher and author of Queer Diplomacy; and Yvee Oduor, Vice Chair of TCEN and Executive Director of Galck+. The event was chaired by Alex Farrow, CEO of Kaleidoscope Trust.

The theme of IDAHOBIT 2025 was ‘The Power of Communities’ which highlights the strength and resilience that emerges from collective solidarity. As articulated by Midnight, the power of our community is largely measured by its reach. Its reach in mobilising action, shaping policy, and providing lifelines in times of crisis. 

Our CEO Alex Farrow emphasised how this is an especially poignant time to explore the impact of our communities because around the world we are seeing more coordinated efforts to roll back the rights, freedoms, and protections of LGBTI+ people. As noted by Yvee, the LGBTI+ community in Kenya – a country which was once seen as a ‘queer haven’ – is in a constant state of fear. Rises in violence and harassment towards LGBTI+ individuals has resulted in an increased security risk and has forced Galck+ to fundamentally change their operational focus. 

For example, previously, Galck+ did not implement direct service provision, but has now needed to shift and provide emergency support and security interventions. As Yvee outlined, the current state of LGBTI+ rights in Kenya does not only impact domestic issues, but the movement as a whole. Organisations and communities have been put into survival mode with “little time to dream…little time to thrive”. While LGBTI+ communities globally are focused on surviving, the anti-rights movement is growing. The panel was in agreement when Alex argued that responding to and combatting this increasingly hostile global environment will require us to create new strategies and new coalitions to defend the progress we have made and the rights we have earned.

Unfortunately, in the face of increasing LGBTI+ backlash, we are seeing a reduction in allyship. Midnight shared the difficulty of relying on multilateral organisations that are no longer as supportive as they once were. In response, activists and advocates must seek solidarity in unexpected places. Dr. Janoff reminded us that despite a strong focus being placed on the United Nations (UN) and other international organisations, there are also regional organisations where litigation and awareness building can take place. Midnight shared how APCOM is exploring regional institutions such as international banks or the Asian Development Bank where LGBTI+ issues have not previously been a topic of discussion.  

These new partnerships provide opportunities to integrate LGBTI+ perspectives into broader discussions about economic development, public health, and human rights. However, these spaces must not become echo chambers for bureaucratic debate. Midnight warned that when we don’t have members of the community at the table, the discussions become removed from the lived realities. Dr. Janoff the risks of having discussions that are not rooted in on the ground experience given the amount of time and energy that is spent on formulating UN resolutions and debating language. He called for a shift in focus from language to implementation, from rhetoric to real-world impact. Only when lived experience informs policy can we hope to achieve meaningful and lasting change. Alex added that in order to facilitate lasting change civil society and activists must not only be at the table, but be strategic, clear, and decisive in our demands. 

Here we can see the road ahead will be difficult, but we will not face it alone and solidarity remains our most powerful tool. Yvee offered a silver lining by stating that “the [people] we have now are people we can genuinely count on and trust”, perhaps the erosion of allyship is a shedding of skin for the movement, where we are left with a reborn, dedicated, and united community. Those of us remaining are ready to fight, and Midnight called on us to stand together and amplify each other’s voices, coordinate our efforts, and present a united front. Our cause is shared, and so too must be our fight. Strategic solidarity is no longer optional, it is essential. Whether through regional development banks, grassroots alliances, or diplomatic interventions, we must act intentionally, align our resources, and expand the spaces in which our voices are heard.

Only through strategic, sustained, and inclusive solidarity can we confront the growing tide of anti-rights agendas and push forward a future that is free, safe, and equal.